Regular Meeting

Contract/Bid approvals: Council approved spending for new furniture at the Civic Center library (the current furniture is 30 years old!) and deck repair at Sheldon Pool  There were several others but those were the ‘fun’ ones.

Keep an eye out for a revamped Love Livonia magazine this fall. There were questions about why the proposed contractor was not the lowest bid and the issue will be revisited at the next meeting. 

Standard practice of all government spending contracts is to select the lowest bid. In this case, the proposed company is currently being used by the Parks & Rec Department and comes with a strong recommendation from the Department Head. I think it’s important to pay attention to the feedback of staff who are experienced in the area, on the ground and working hard to implement projects on a deadline. If I were on council I would have voted ‘yes’ with Brandon McCollough to approve the contract. 

Short-term rentals like AirBnB have been (and continue to be) a hot topic on the council agenda and multiple residents called in with concern about how the City was prepared to protect residents from irresponsible landlords. It was concluded that the current rental license laws should be sufficient in addressing this problem for now. The City’s strategy will be enforcement of the current ordinances and if holes are discovered the subject will be revisited. 

Shake Shack is coming to Haggerty and 7 Mile and if you were wondering who decides where no left turn signs go, it is not City Council – it’s Wayne County.

The Study Meeting session previews what you can expect to hear more about in future Regular Meetings. Tonight’s main topics were a new housing development by Clement Circle Pool called Emerson Estates, exterior updates to commercial properties on 7 Mile by Farmington and Plymouth by Middlebelt, and issues related to dogs – should there be new ordinances about how they are cared for in their backyard during inclement weather and should there be leash laws for public space. 

There’s lots happening in Livonia and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can watch Council Meetings on Livonia TV, Zoom and on YouTube (including past meetings): https://www.youtube.com/user/LivoniaTV/featured